A
undred
ers were too big and the reality was too sm
wenty-first century. "Pfft... Five hundred million? Dad, ple
out on my forehead. My voice dropped to a wh
the stocks? Tell me he's talking about the business. Tell
. He was too busy burying his face in his hands, acting like if h
ck at Silas, and my stomach did a slow, sick fl
is a prank, right? Wh
d in the room as I searched the corners of the ceiling, looking for a lens o
over! Ha! Very funny, Dad! You really got me with th
w to pop out from behind the curtains and tell me I was the star of a new reality show
t watched my meltdown with a calm, steady gaze
e reach
im in the eye. His skin was warm, but his grip was absolute. It wasn't the kind of hol
g through the silence of the office
as if he were already figuri
murmured. "After all... Da
asp
yers. Call the fucking lawye
didn't get traded like stocks in the twenty-first centu
m. It's the best option," my father whi
ooked at the man I called my father, who was c
e were no lawyers coming to save me. There was
ed. He wasn't asking me to follow him. He was
his happen
erwater," Silas replied. "You aren't a daughter today, Maya.
ld the sails to pay for his booze and the oars to pay for his
swallowed hard, the reality of it clawing a
to my lips. "Now I own the r
"Although, I'm still weighing my options. With a mouth as sharp as
so abruptly my head s
t's
d those plans definitely don't involv
ace hovering so close to mine that his breath was warm against my lips. "Th
in my life, I could
d. "Do try not to die in the first week. I
errifying level of nonchalance, as if he hadn't
n into his touch of its own accord, drawn to the very man who was ruining me. He didn't
His eyes met mine for a split second before he looked at the floor. He
e flinch. It was a jolt of the real world hitting me at the worst po
booked the table at that Italian place I like
with a sob I ref
apartment to wipe off my makeup and forget this day ever happen
eing co
look like the kind of man w
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